


Le Horntail Affamé

by little_muffin302



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Draco Malfoy Speaks French, French Cafe, French cafe music hehe, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Minor Theodore Nott/Pansy Parkinson, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Song: La Vie En Rose, ahh cute cafe and cute boys, eating a lot of pastries, harrys pretty green eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_muffin302/pseuds/little_muffin302
Summary: When Pansy tells Draco about a cafe near his flat, he goes to scope it out. Little does he know, an old acquaintance is there.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson & Harry Potter
Kudos: 49





	Le Horntail Affamé

**Author's Note:**

> I don't speak French, so I used Google Translate. If anything is wrong please let me know! Any sentences spoken in French have a translation (thank you Draco) except one sentence, where Draco says "Ah, thank you sir." Also- comments are always welcome!

_ Le Horntail Affamé _ , or  _ The Hungry Horntail _ in English, read the sign. It was a dark mahogany wood with gold edges and a little Horntail dragon at the top. Draco looked up at the door. It was a newer shop, established in 1999 the door said. The year of the war. Draco remembered after the war, when the aurors swooped in and took himself, his mother, and his father into custody. At his trials, Potter had testified for Draco and both his parents surprisingly, then stayed until the end. He had come up to Draco, handed him his wand, and was lost in the crowd so fast Draco couldn’t even thank him. 

Draco fingered that same wand through his sleeve. People here in France didn’t care as much that he had been a Death Eater, but it was always best to be vigilant. His mind shot to fourth year, with Moody shouting “ _ Constant vigilance! _ ” all the time. Draco scowled, thinking of the time he was turned into a ferret. All because he was waiting for Potter, so he could taunt him. He was really obvious back then wasn’t he? It was truly a Merlin-Blessed miracle he didn’t get found out.

Draco shook his head and cleared his mind. He went up the two steps and pushed open the door, and was hit with the most lovely aroma of coffee and pumpkin pasties and treacle tart and croissants. The sound of soft French cafe music was playing in the background. Pansy had recommended this little cafe to him, after she had come here. Apparently she came quite often to this place. It was certainly a magical place, that was for sure. Draco could see a coffee mug floating to a table with an old woman, reading  _ Sorcière Hebdomadaire _ , or the  _ Witch Weekly _ . Everything in France was somehow just more elegant. That was, in a way, one of the reasons why Draco had moved to France after the war. 

That and everyone in Magical Britain hated him. Here, he had a nice job at the local apothecary, he was the best brewer there. They promoted him so fast that he basically owned the place now, although the actual owner was a 170 year old lady. Brewing reminded him of his Uncle Sev. He missed that man. He was always so sullen and rude to everyone but Draco. It was always funny when he was younger to see his classmates struggle through the material he had been doing long before that. He always had a special place in Severus’ heart, what little he did have.

A warm deep voice broke him out of his stupor. “ Bonjour comment vas tu aujourd'hui?”  _ Hello, how are you today?  _ Draco’s mind supplied. He looked to find the source of the voice and found himself staring into extremely familiar eyes. The same eyes he always looked to across the Great Hall. The same eyes he looked into when he was asked “Is that him Draco?”. The same eyes he had looked into when he was being sliced to bits by  _ Sectumsempra _ . The same eyes he’d been in love with since fifth year. Those lovely Avada green eyes. 

Potter’s eyes.

_ Potter’s eyes _ . As in, Potter who had gone missing right after the war. As in, Potter who had left everyone and everything, and hadn’t been seen by anyone. Not even his friends, Granger and Weasley, although Draco supposed that would be Granger-Weasley and Granger-Weasley now. He was at their wedding and after that had just left. Nobody had seen him since. So this is where he was. 

“Malfoy?” Potter asked.  _ As if it could be anyone else you twit. _ “What are you doing here?”

“Pansy recommended this shop here, although seeing as you’re here, I’m not sure why,” Draco stated. 

“Oh, Pansy did! That’s right innit, she did say she was going to be sending a friend sooner or later. I should have guessed it would be you,” Potter said, his bright green eyes full of laughter. “I’m glad you’re here anyway. Anything you see to your liking?”

“How is the treacle tart? It’s my-,” Draco said. 

“Favorite,” Potter blushed a bit and cleared his throat as Draco stared. “You, uh, used to eat it a lot at Hogwarts. It’s honestly amazing. It’s my own recipe, which I’ve been told is better than Hogwarts’ recipe. I suppose you’ll just have to find out,” Harry reached for a slice of treacle tart and handed it to Draco. Seeing his odd look he explained, “I forget I’m magical sometimes, having not grown up with it. Pansy is always making fun of me for my muggle habits, but sometimes things are better done the muggle way.”

Draco asked for a cup of coffee  _ (black, please) _ and paid for his things. He sat down in a cute wooden chair with a cream cushion. The whole shop was done up in tones of wood and cream and an occasional light yellow or teal. There were floating hanging plants up in the rafters and ending just above everyone’s heads. Chairs of all kinds and almost mismatching tables were set up everywhere. It had an open, yet homey vibe to it. There were three massive windows with arches on top, one of which Draco was sitting against, which looked out onto the street. The people of Magical France walked by, each in their own world. 

Draco took a bite of the treacle tart and almost moaned at how good it was. He closed his eyes and just basked in the delicious taste. It tasted just like his mother’s had, back when he was a young boy.

“So, how do you like it?” Potter’s voice came again. “I-Is it good, or do-”

“Potter, shut up for a minute. I’m enjoying this delicious treacle tart and having a moment,” Draco interrupted. He cracked an eye open to see Potter staring at him with wide eyes. He closed his eyes again and took another bite.

“Ah, so it’s good,” Potter sounded almost relieved. Why he would sound relieved, Draco didn’t know. The treacle tart was good anyway. Draco finished his treacle tart, and for a moment debated getting another, but decided against it. He looked at Potter, who was staring at him.

“That, Potter, was very good. I shall be back,” Draco declared. “I expect there to be treacle tart when I come again. Thank you, I shall take my leave now.” He walked out of the door and onto Rue Cachée, Paris’ Diagon Alley. It was lined with cobblestones and cute French shops. Draco’s apothecary was just down the street, closer to the bank. Nelkes, it was called here. It wasn’t run by goblins either, those nasty little buggers. Instead, it was run by a variety of different magical creatures, although mostly the fairies. They were much nicer than the goblins of Gringotts. 

____________

Draco began going to Potter’s coffee shop everyday after work, before he headed to his flat. He always got one cup of coffee and a slice of treacle tart and sat by the window. It developed into a routine, and he had been going about it for 2 months now. Sometimes he wrote letters to his mother back at Malfoy Manor and to Blaise, who was in Italy. Greg was in America now, studying to be a magizoologist. Pansy and Theo were both here, in France, so Draco saw them often enough.

Today, like every other day, Draco had walked into the coffee shop and, expecting the chair  _ (his chair) _ to be empty, froze when he caught sight of it. It was occupied, and by a very pregnant Pansy. She had married Theo Nott a little after they had escaped England, and was expecting a baby boy. Draco was going to be the godfather. The fact that she was there wasn’t what shocked him though. What had shocked him was Potter. Potter had pulled up another chair to the table Pansy was sitting at,  _ Draco’s table _ , and they were talking animatedly. 

“Draco darling!” Pansy cried and stood up. She made her way over to Draco and hugged him until he couldn’t breathe. You wouldn’t expect it from somebody eight months pregnant, but that would be Pansy. “How are you darling? Are you faring well? How is your job?”

“Pansy, darling, I just saw you two weeks ago, nothing has changed that much,” Draco insisted.

“That’s where you’re wrong darling! Harry here tells me that you’ve been coming here a lot. How do you like it?”

“It’s wonderful, really. You can ask Pot-Harry. I come here everyday and get the treacle tart,” Draco gestured to Potter sitting in the chair, watching them. 

Potter smiled. “Yeah, he pretty much comes in here everyday,” Draco looked at Potter and made eye contact, and Potter blushed, and for some odd reason, Draco did too. Pansy looked between them and smirked. 

“Well, I’d best be going darlings!” She leaned down (as much as she could, being pregnant and all) and kissed Po-Harry on his cheeks. She then turned to Draco and did the same. “Goodbye loves, and Harry dear, go for it.” She slipped out of the shop. 

“What did she mean by ‘go for it’?” Draco asked.

Potter blushed again. It was quite cute, if Draco had to admit. “Well, I was just wondering ifyou’dliketogooutfordinnerwithmetonight” Draco just stared at him. “I mean, I was wondering i-if you’d like to go out for dinner. With me. Tonight.”

Draco blushed. “I’d be delighted, actually. Where to?”

“Well, there’s this really good, er, Thai place around the corner from here. It’s muggle, but their Pad Thai is to die for,” Potter said, scratching his neck. “I’ll come pick you up at 6:30, if that’s good for you? Where do you live?”

“That sounds lovely. I live in the flat above the apothecary in which I work.  _ Bubbling Cauldron _ , right up the street.” Draco gestured up the street.

“Yes, I’m familiar. Does that mean you come out of your way to come here everyday after work, instead of just going upstairs?”

“Yes, it’s worth it Harry,” Draco said, and he blushed again. Damn his pale face, it betrayed his true emotions. The man he had been in love with since he was 15 was asking him out on a date. True, he was 21 now and he’d been in love with him for 6 years, and therefore usually able to keep his cool, but something about this situation was different.

Draco smiled at Harry and left. As soon as he got to his flat, he fire-called Pansy. “Pansy, he asked me out on a date tonight to go get Pad Thai in a muggle restaurant. Pansy! Did you know this would happen? Is that what you meant by ‘go for it’?”

“A witch never reveals her secrets darling,” Pansy giggled. “Let me know how it goes later!” And with that, the fire-call disconnected. Bugger. What would he do now? What on Merlin’s green Earth was he supposed to wear on a date with the man he’s been in love with for so long?

____________

“Wow Draco, you look stunning,” Harry said. “Tu es très, très beau.”  _ You are very, very beautiful _ Draco’s mind supplied as he blushed again. Damn his fair complexion. When did Potter become a smooth flirter?

“Ah, merci monsieur,” Draco said. They began walking down the street, away from  _ Bubbling Cauldron _ , and accordion music began to fill the air from the man playing on the street corner. It was La Vie En Rose, sounding lovely in the warm evening air.

  
“I love this song,” Harry grabbed Draco’s hand and began to spin him around into a messy waltz, right there on the cobblestone street. Draco laughed and people around them began to dance with them. Harry grinned and looked right into Draco’s eyes. Draco was startled by how green Harry’s eyes truly were. They were beautiful.  _ Just like him _ . 

**Author's Note:**

> The songs in this were  
> La Vie en rose- Edith Piaf  
> Flambee Montalbanese- William Galison & Madeleine Peyroux (this was the cafe music)
> 
> Should I make more or should I leave it how it is? Let me know!


End file.
